“Blushing,” he said, reaching across the table to run a finger down my cheek.
I waved him off. “I’m just hot. It’s stuffy in here.”
He nodded, grinning. “Uh huh. Sure.”
Sighing, I leaned my elbows on the table and gave in. “Fine, I was texting my boyfriend.”
“Dirty texts?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
“No,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Who is this boyfriend? How come I’m only hearing about him now?”
“Because, contrary to what you might think, I don’t tell you everything about my life.”
He scoffed. “Well you should. I’m an excellent listener.”
I shrugged. “It’s still sort of new, so…”
“Well who is it? Do I know him? Does he go here?”
I shook my head. “He’s older.”
His eyes widened and he sat back a bit. “It’s the neighbour, isn’t it?”
I hated that he had instantly guessed right. “What makes you say that?”
“Because contrary to what you may think,” he mimicked me, “I actually know a thing or two about guys.”
I snorted. “Oh yeah? And what do you know?”
“I know when a guy looks at a girl like she’s his, and that guy definitely had possession written in his eyes when he looked at you. He also wasn’t too happy to find us the way he did,” he said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That wasn’t true, I knew exactly what he was talking about, because Grey looked at me like that all the time. Every time he did, I could practically hear his mind shouting mine when he stared at me. And for some reason, I loved it. My inner feminist was shaking her head in disappointment.
“So are you telling me that’s not who you’re dating?”
I shifted in my seat. “I didn’t say that.”
He slapped the table, letting out a loud bark of laughter. “Ha! I knew it.”
I looked around, embarrassed by the curious stares that were sent in our direction. “Can you keep it down please?” I said.
“I’m always right, you should just get used to it,” he said smugly, ignoring me.
“Whatever,” I said. My bag was buzzing, giving me an exit from this entire conversation. Pulling out my phone, I saw an unknown number on the screen. Confused, I answered it, wondering who from the New York area code would be calling me. “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Miss. Honor Jacobs?” the lady on the other end said.
“It is,” I replied.
“Hello, Miss. Jacobs. My name is Angie Hansen. I’m the head of the auditions administrations for the National Ballet Academy.”
My mouth instantly went dry.
“Okay…” I said slowly.
“We received your application and would like to book an official audition for you next month. Do you have a pen and paper to take down the date and time?”
Scrambling, I searched through my bag for a pen and notepad, my shaking hands making it difficult. The breath in my lungs felt thick and heavy as my mind raced to make sense of what was going on. Copying down the information, and answering ‘yes’ when she asked if I would be able to arrange transportation to New York for that date, I hung up, staring unseeing at the phone still in my hand.
“Everything okay?” Adrien asked.
I looked up at him, blinking as I tried to catch up with the events that had just happened.
“You look like you’re about to be sick,” he said with a grimace.
That wasn’t that far off. My stomach was definitely rolling. I’d never sent in an application, so how…?
Perrie.
The answer came to me instantly. She must have sent something in for me, that little meddler. Why couldn’t she have just left it alone?
Except, they actually wanted me to audition. I still couldn’t believe that. They hadn’t just outright written me off. They wanted to see me dance. Something close to excitement mixed with fear filled my chest. This was big. No, this was huge. I didn’t know how to process it or what to think.
The Academy was where all professional dancers wanted to go if they could. And they wanted to see me.
Doubt started to slip in. If I went there, I’d be hours away from home, and all my friends and family. And Grey. I’d be leaving him and whatever it was that was blossoming between us. Could we still make it work if I lived in New York?
I wasn’t sure. Long-distance relationships weren’t easy, especially for one as new as ours. I couldn’t base my life decisions around Grey though, that would just be stupid. Then again, I really, really liked him, and I couldn’t help but take him into consideration when thinking about my decision.
Excusing myself to Adrien, I walked out of the building into the fresh air, breathing it in deeply. I still had a bit of time to make my decision, so I needed to just relax and get my thoughts in order.
First things first, I needed to call Perrie.
***
After class, I sat on a bench near the north parking lot, waiting for Grey to pick me up. Perrie hadn’t been apologetic at all for her little stunt. In fact, she had insisted that what she’d done was right, because I was an idiot for not doing it myself. She was also super excited about the audition. I knew it was only a matter of time before Mom would be calling me, screaming in joy.
Grey pulled up to the curb, those blue eyes instantly zeroing in on me. My heart raced as I got up and walked over to him. As soon as I sat down, his lips were on mine in a slow, heated kiss that had my head spinning even more than it had been all afternoon.
When he pulled back, he smiled down at me, softening those usually hard, intimidating eyes. “Hey,” he said darkly.
“Hey,” I whispered back.
He leaned back into his seat and drove away from the school. I stared out the window, debating on whether or not I should tell him about the phone call. There was a part of me that was terrified if I told him, he’d realize that it would mean I’d have to leave, and he would just want to end things right away. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to lose him already. But I also knew I couldn’t keep it a secret forever.
“How was your day?” he asked, reaching a hand over to clasp mine, linking our fingers together.
I looked down at them, loving how much bigger and rougher his were than mine. He squeezed, causing me to look up to see him giving me a curious look.
“Are you okay? You’re pretty quiet,” he said, glancing between me and the road.
Taking a deep breath, I leaned my head against the seat, knowing that I needed to be as honest with him as I could if this relationship had any chance of working out.
“I got a phone call today,” I said.
He instantly looked alert. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it was nothing bad,” I reassured him. He relaxed again, waiting for me to explain further. “It was the National Ballet Academy…in New York.”
“Really?” he said, seeming genuinely interested. I wondered if he had heard the last part, or if I had just been making a bigger deal about the distance than I should have. Maybe everything would be okay after all. “What did they want?”
“They want me to audition,” I said, watching his expression closely. He only seemed excited for me, and if I was reading him properly, proud. It brought an ache to the back of my throat that had me swallowing it down before I embarrassed myself by bursting into tears.
He looked over and must have seen some of my emotions warring with each other, because his smile slipped from his face, and concern returned to his eyes.
“Aren’t you happy about that? I thought this was a big deal for dancers.”
I nodded my head, sighing as I looked forward. “It is,” I said. “I was just shocked because I hadn’t actually sent in an application to go there.”
“That’s strange.”
“Not really,” I muttered. “It was Perrie. She sent in the application without tell me.”
He chuckled.
I looked over at him, scolding. “It’s not funny! She’s interfering with my life choices.”
He gave my hand another squeeze, that smile still stuck on his gorgeous face. “I know, doll. But she did it out of love, just remember that. Sometimes our families can just be infuriating like that.”
I snorted. “You have no idea.”
“So?” he looked at me expectantly.
I bit my lip, looking down at our hands.
“Are you going to go?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I glanced back at him, soaking in every line of his face. “It would be in New York. I’d have to leave everyone I know…” Including you, I left unsaid. He seemed to understand, his face softening.
He parked the car, and only then did I realize we were back at our building. Turning to face me in his seat, Grey reached out to cup my cheek. I leaned into it, needing his touch more than I could say right then.
“Honor, this is an opportunity that you shouldn’t let pass you by. Especially not because of me.”
I could feel that infuriating burn at the back of my eyes as tears welled.
“We can work it out,” he said, brushing one of the tears that leaked out. “It doesn’t mean this has to be over.”
“Long-distance isn’t easy,” I argued, sniffling. God, I felt like such a baby.
“Doll, anything worthwhile isn’t easy. I never expected this to be. This is just one thing we’ll need to work through, and we will. I promise you, everything will be fine.”
I nodded my head, even though doubt lingered. That’s what people always said when things started to go south.
Everything will be fine.
Famous last words.
If only I had listened to my instinct and kept the call from him, because as much as he reassured me then, the next week was drastically different. He was pulling away, and I was helpless to do anything about it.
Chapter 24
Grey
Three missed calls.
I was fucking up.
I stared down at my phone as Honor’s call went to voicemail again. Why I couldn’t just answer her, I didn’t know. We hadn’t seen each other for three days, the longest since we’d started dating exclusively. I’d needed the space.
After I’d made love to her that day, and watched her fall asleep in my arms, I couldn’t find sleep myself. My mind stayed awake, going over our conversation from earlier. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her she needed to audition at the dance school. It was an amazing opportunity and she couldn’t let it pass her by.
That didn’t mean I liked the idea of her being so far away. She was right, long-distance relationships were hard. Actually, I considered them pretty much impossible. We’d see each other, when? Christmas? Thanksgiving? Maybe a week during her spring break if she could even afford to come back to Bloomfield then.
I didn’t do hard. I liked easy. Normal relationships were foreign enough for me, I could only imagine how difficult it would be if we were in completely different cities. I just couldn’t see it working. Maybe for a while we would try, but eventually it would take its toll on us.
Why couldn’t I just talk to her about my fears? I knew why. I was scared shitless she’d know how right she was, and this would end. Isn’t that what you’re doing now?
I scowled. It’s not as if I’d broken up with her. I just hadn’t invited her over in a while, texting her that I was tired. Fuck. I was such an idiot. Obviously she knew I was avoiding her, and I knew my actions would her hurt. That was the last thing I wanted to do.
I just needed some time, that’s all. I needed to put everything into perspective. What Dad had said before was beginning to ring truer than it had at the time. Honor and I were at different stages in our lives. She was still finding her path, deciding what her future would be.
There was no deciding left for me. I knew what I was going to do, and I was doing it. Sure, if she moved to New York and ended up staying there, because that was a high probability, I could possibly get a job there too. But I didn’t want to. I couldn’t imagine someone with her skill coming back to Bloomfield. To do what?
There were no major dance companies here in the city. It wasn’t as though she could further her career in Bloomfield. This place was a dead end for her. But New York? That was the land of possibilities right there. Especially for someone in her profession.
I liked the shop I worked at here. I liked my clients and the guys I worked with. New York was a cool place to live, but it wasn’t for me. No, there was no way I could follow her there. And she wouldn’t want to come back here.
There it was. The honest, awful truth of the matter. If she left, it would be for good. And if that were the case, what would be the point of having a long-distance relationship? We couldn’t do it forever.
Who knew how many guys would hit on her while she was there. My fists clenched just imagining it. How could I stand it? It would be torture. I wanted her here, with me. But that was being selfish. She was young and talented, and needed to live her life the way she wanted, not the way I did. There was no way I could ask her to give up something as big as this.
I leaned back in my seat, staring at my phone like the chicken shit that I was slowly becoming. Maybe it was all going to come to an end, but at least I had her with me now. And here I was screwing it up already.
Shaking my head, I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair, and pulled my car keys from my pocket. Walking to the back of the shop, I poked my head inside the office to see Kyle still there doing paperwork.
“Hey, boss man,” I said, catching his attention.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” he said, pushing away from his desk slightly.
“I’m going to head home for the night. My station is all cleaned up.”
He nodded. “Cool. I’ll see you at the bar then?”
That made me pause. “What bar?”
“Didn’t Honor tell you?”
Shame filled my gut as I shook my head. If he thought that was weird, he didn’t let it show.
“Colt asked Olivia to marry him, so we’re all going out to celebrate at that new bar at the four corners.”
“No shit,” I said, surprised. “That’s awesome for them.”
He nodded again. “Cat and Chloe were heading over there with Honor, so I figured she had told you.” His eye’s seemed curious, but I knew Kyle wasn’t the type to pry.
“I must have forgotten,” I said lamely.
“I get it. If I didn’t have Chloe, I’d forget what day it was half the time.”
I grunted my agreement, my mind still racing with just how big of an asshole I was.
“I’ll see you there then?”
I looked up, not realizing I’d been staring off at the floor. “Yeah, I’ll just head home for a shower quickly and head over myself.”
He waved me off as I turned to leave. I didn’t know what Honor was going to do when she saw me. All I could hope was she didn’t punch me in the face the second she laid eyes on me.
***
What. The. Fuck.
Air puffed in and out of my nose as I watched the two of them from the front of the bar. I couldn’t fucking believe it. I know I was the one who had been avoiding her, but I hadn’t expected Honor to move on so damn quickly.
She looked like a goddess, dressed in tight, black pants and a gold, shimmery shirt that hung on her as if it had been made especially with her body in mind. All that dark hair hung down her back in waves, and even from where I stood I could see the bright crimson of her lips.
That douche that I’d found in her apartment was standing next to her, smiling down at whatever it was she was saying. His entire body leaned in toward her as though she were the only woman there. In my mind, she was. But I didn’t want anyone else to feel that way.
He murmured something close to her ear, and her head tilted back as she laughed, one of her hands rising to settle on his chest. I blinked a few ti
mes, wondering if I was just imagining it. I wasn’t.
My feet were moving before I realized it, eating up the space between us. If there were people in my way, I didn’t even notice, my attention fully on her. Just as I drew close, her gaze met mine over the other guy’s shoulder.
They widened, a mixture of emotions flashing through them one by one. First relief, then hurt and doubt, and finally confusion. She must have seen the anger in my own. The guy noticed her distraction, and turned to see my approach as well, his mouth hardening, along with his entire body as he met my glare with his own challengingly.
Oh, so this little shit thought he would get between me and my woman? I didn’t fucking think so. He looked just as pissed as I was, and that only made me angrier.
I stopped close to them, my chest rising and falling quickly as I fought to control my temper.
“Grey?” Honor said softly, her voice filled with confusion. Just the sound of it made the last three days feel like years. I’d missed hearing her voice. What the hell had I been thinking this week?
I’d make it up to her, but first I needed to send a clear message to the frat boy who was staring me down. We faced off, chest to chest, neither one of us speaking as our eyes said it all. I told him to fuck off just as he said the same.
“Grey?” Honor said again, her soft hand gripping my forearm.
“You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?” I said, never looking away from him.
“What?” I heard her say. “Grey, what are you doing? What’s the matter with you?”
A slow smirk spread across the fucker’s face.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on here,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I was just here keeping my girl Honor company since her asshole boyfriend has been ignoring her for days. Because, you see, some of us know how to treat a beautiful girl like her right, unlike others.”
I took a threatening step closer. “She isn’t your fucking girl,” I bit out.
He raised a brow. “Oh yeah? Is she yours? Because you sure haven’t been acting like it.”
Shame mixed with the anger rushed through me.
“Grey would you cut it out please?” Honor said, her voice filled with embarrassment. She pushed at my chest, inserting herself between us.
Young Love (Bloomfield #4) Page 16
